That's all the time the United States needed to relieve a mountain of pressure and seemingly legitimize manager Jurgen Klinsmann's oft-controversial tactics.

A deft toe on the ball from midfielder Jermaine Jones set up United States' captain Clint Dempsey for a masterful goal and for a moment it seemed nothing could stop the Yanks from throttling Ghana.

But the quick score meant a much-maligned defense would have to hold a powerful and creative Ghana attack at bay for over 90 minutes. No small task for any team; a much larger one for a squad whose backline had only played together a handful of times heading into the World Cup.

Somehow — a couple strained hamstrings and a broken nose later — the United States pulled a narrow 2-1 victory from the grasp of a deserving Ghana team, thanks to a textbook header from an unlikely hero, defenseman and second-half substitute John Brooks.

After Dempsey's opening goal left U.S. fans everywhere in a wake of euphoria, Ghana absolutely took control. The Black Stars held possession for a crippling 60 percent of the time, though fans wearing stars and stripes may claim the percentage was closer to 80 or 90.

Much of the problem was a dreadful performance from midfielder Michael Bradley, who is widely believed to be the best player on the roster. Ghana's physically-imposing and quick-footed midfielders smothered the playmaker and Bradley didn't seem to have an answer for most of the match.

Midfielders Jermaine Jones and Kyle Beckerman — along with gutsy performances by goalkeeper Tim Howard and center back Geoff Cameron — were key to holding off the looming equalizer as long as possible and deserve high honors.

It wasn't pretty. At times, it was downright ugly. But ugly wins have a way of hardening a team's resolve and may give the United States an edge that was lacking from past squads. That may prove useful in the tough weeks ahead.

Deserved or not, the Yanks have secured a crucial three points and relieved a mountain of pressure that had been building toward this match.

Jergen Klinsmann might be the happiest man in Brazil after this benchmark win, but looking ahead it's difficult to be fully optimistic. Come Sunday, this bend-not-break defense will have to find a way to contain Portugal's world class striker Cristiano Ronaldo, a player who can single-handedly demolish some of soccer's best defensive game plans.

Even if the midfield reestablishes itself and the United States plays a more even match, it's hard to imagine a scenario in which Ronaldo doesn't burn this inexperienced backline.

But Portugal did just about everything it could to help out the United States before the game against Ghana even kicked off. In a marquee matchup against Germany, Portugal not only suffered a thumping 4-0 defeat — goal differential could very likely come into play in a tight Group G — but also lost starting center back Pepe for the upcoming match after he was shown a red card for headbutting Germany's Thomas Muller.

Forward Jozy Altidore's injury clearly hampered the U.S. attack against Ghana, but I have confidence in backups Aron Johannsson and Chris Wondolowski, at least against a leaky defense like Portugal's.

If Portugal plays down to the level it showed against Germany, there's no reason the United States can't pick up three more points. Ronaldo is sure to terrorize the U.S. backline, but his fellow forward Nani looked completely lost throughout the match which may open the door for the United States to find a way to limit the damage.

In this so-called "Group of Death," Jurgen Klinsmann will take any sign of life he can get.

This is the opinion of Times soccer columnist David Lanser. Contact him at dlanser@stcloudtimes.com